The Innkeeper
by ChristyK
Summary: Dean and Sam get a call from an old friend to help cleanse a house of an evil spirit Complete
1. Chapter 1

**The Innkeeper**

Dean had been driving throughout the night. A few days ago they had received a voice mail on their dad's cell phone from Marge Brenner, a friend of their dads, saying that she needed his help. They had called her back informing her that their dad wasn't around right now and whether they could be of any help. She accepted their offer. Dean remembered Marge from when he was young, and knew she was a medium and psychic, Sam had been too young to remember her. All she had told them was that she was asked to help clean a house of spirits and knowing the line of work their dad was in thought he could be of help. Dean was tired, normally he would have woken Sam up to take over the driving so he could get some rest but so far he hadn't. Sam, who always had trouble sleeping, had fallen into what Dean thought was finally a peaceful sleep which he knew his brother badly needed. But as Dean looked over at Sam his face wrinkled with worry when he heard his brother begin to moan in pain. Dean winced when he saw the trickle of blood begin to run out of Sam's nose. _Not again_ he thought as he reached over and shook Sam awake. For the last few months Sam had been having his usual nightmares, which weren't unusual for him, but now with each nightmare his nose would start to bleed. It would start slowly at first but if he didn't wake up it would begin to increase. More then once Dean had woken up to find Sam's pillow saturated with blood.

"Huh?...What?..." Sam said as he was jerked out of his sleep.

"You're bleeding again."

"Oh." Sam wiped the blood away with the back of his hand.

Dean handed him a tissue.

"Thanks." Sam said as he dapped at his nose.

"Sam….something is obviously wrong. I still think you need to see a doctor."

They had had this conversation a million times before and Sam had always refused which is what he did now.

"I'm fine."

"Fine! Who the hell else do you know that bleeds every time they have a nightmare? Give me one name and I won't bother you about it again."

"Dean, I'm fine. Just let it rest."

"Sam…you could be bleeding in your brain or something."

"Well at least you finally admit I have a brain." Sam grinned over at his brother.

"It's not funny Sammy."

"Look Dean…it's probably just a sinus infection."

"A sinus infection! When does a sinus infection last for months?"

"Well did you ever have one?"

"No."

"Well then how do you know how long they last?"

Dean shook his head and looked out the side window.

"You're impossible." He mumbled.

"Hey, I feel fine. Don't worry about it okay?" Sam lied. The truth was he wasn't feeling fine. In fact a lot of the time he felt lousy. He didn't want Dean to know, he knew he'd get all protective of him and make him go to the hospital and the truth was he was scared of what they might find.

"You know Sam we're going into an active haunted house, poltergeists and spirits, the whole nine yards….If you're not feeling one hundred percent…"

"Just drive." Sam interrupted him.

Dean shook his head and looked out the side window. He was worried about Sam but he knew it was hopeless to keep arguing with him. He decided all he could do was try and keep an eye on him and if he got worse he'd make him go to the doctors even if he had to knock him out to get him there.

**The House**

They pulled up at an old house that had once been an inn many years ago. The house sat back off an old country road and down a long path, barely visible at the end of it. Marge came out to greet them as they got out of the car. She immediately ran over to Dean and pulled him into a hug.

"Dean, look at you!" She pulled back and put her hands on each of his shoulders looking him over. "You look so handsome."

"Oh…thanks." Dean blushed. "Nice to see you again Marge." He nodded his head toward Sam. "You remember Sam don't you?"

She turned to Sam.

"Yes I remember Sammy, why you were just a little guy when I saw you last." She hugged him then pulled away, a worried look on her face. "Oh my Sammy, you're so pale and so cold. What's the matter honey aren't you feeling well?"

Sam glanced over at Dean hoping he hadn't heard her but he had. Dean looked back at him angry that he hadn't admitted to him how he was really feeling. He was just about to tell Marge about Sam's nosebleeds when Sam gave him a quick shake of the head telling him not to. At first he was going to ignore him and tell her anyway, but then decided against getting his brother pissed off at him. If the nosebleeds continued, or if Sam looked or acted sick, he would tell her on the side when he wasn't around.

"I'm fine." Sam quickly said.

She looked at him suspiciously, she knew he was lying.

"So Marge how have you been?" Dean asked.

"I've been fine… But you boys….I can tell you have so many questions…" She looked at them sensing their turmoil but not quite sure why.

"That we do, but we can get to that later. Could you give us a little background on the house?" Dean looked up at the old house which sat off a narrow path, no neighbors in sight. It had to be over a hundred years old he thought.

Marge grabbed each of their hands as she led them toward the house.

"A family moved in here about six months ago, a man, his wife, and two children, a boy and a girl. They immediately began having trouble; you know lights flickering, televisions sets turning off and on, strange knocks on the walls….the usual poltergeist activity. They just assumed it was the house settling. But the daughter who is twelve swore she saw a man standing over her bed one night, she said she screamed and he disappeared and the boy, who is fourteen, has been attacked more then once. He has numerous bruises and scratch marks over his body. The family didn't know what to do and a mutual friend had them contact me."

"Where are they now?" Sam asked.

"I had them leave for a few days. I figured that was best."

"Do you know the history of the house?" Dean asked.

"The local legend says it used to be an inn which catered to travelers passing between the two closest towns which are about sixteen miles apart. The legend says the owner was a madman who would rob then kill his guests. It was said he was a cannibal and would then cook and eat the bodies."

"Sounds like a nice guy." Dean grinned over at Sam.

"Did you research the legend?" Sam asked as they entered the house.

"I checked out the local library's microfilm and I discovered that yes it had been used as an inn at one time and that there were indeed reports of missing travelers in the area."

"So we could be dealing with more then one spirit, the innkeeper, and the ones who died here." Dean stated.

"That's the feeling I'm getting."

"Did you try having the house blessed by a priest to see if that would help?"

"I tried that and it helped for a few days but the activity in the house returned." She said as she led them around the first floor. A large mixed breed dog came out of the kitchen and Sam knelt down next to it.

"This is Jake." Marge smiled; she always traveled with her dog.

"Hey boy." He scratched its neck then looked up at Marge. "Has the dog been acting strange?"

"The usual things when a spirit is present. Growling at things that aren't there, and a few times he ran and hid under the table scared to death."

"Have you sensed anything?" Dean asked as he too knelt down and scratched the dog.

"I've sensed a very evil spirit who seems to be holding the other spirits here, they seem almost trapped here because of it." She then led them upstairs and into the girl's room. "I'm having a few friends stop by tonight for a séance. I'm hoping we can draw the spirit out and find out what it wants."

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**The Innkeeper**

Chapter two

As soon as Sam walked into the room he was hit by a blinding headache. He winced in pain and fell heavily against the wall. Dean, seeing him in distress, quickly pulled him out into the hallway.

"What's wrong?" He asked looking into Sam's eyes.

"Nothing."

"Damn it Sammy talk to me!"

"It was nothing…"

Marge walked over to Sam and put her hand on the side of his face.

"Honey, you must be honest with your brother, he's worried about you."

"I'm fine, really, I'm okay."

"Damn it Sammy…." Dean looked at Marge. "Can you tell me what's wrong with him?" He knew she could pick up feelings easily and hoped she'd be able to help him find out what was going on with Sam.

"I sense a deep hurt inside." She looked at Sam sadly. "You're being torn in oh so many directions."

"And he's having nose bleeds at night." Dean blurted out then tried to ignore the dirty look Sam gave him.

"You have a special gift Sam but you're fighting it. And as long as you fight it…."

"What?" Dean asked when she hesitated.

"It could kill you." She looked into Sam's eyes. "But it doesn't have to."

Dean's face immediately became etched with worry at her words.

"What can we do?" He asked Marge.

Sam removed her hand from his face and stepped away.

"Look I feel fine now; I'm just a little tired."

"You heard her Sam; you need to see a doctor."

"A doctor can't help him. It's all built up inside him. He has to help himself or he'll destroy himself."

Sam was getting tired of being the center of attention.

"Look….we're here to help these people. Well, let's do that….I'm going to go get our gear." Sam walked down the steps and left the house.

Dean waited till he heard the door shut then looked at Marge.

"What's going on with him Marge, do you know? Can you sense anything?"

"Sammy is confused. He's been given a gift, or is you'd ask him he'd say he's been cursed with it. Your brother is fighting these feelings he's having. I sense such a struggle in the poor boy."

"Sam's been having nightmares, mostly about mom and his girlfriend Jessica. I think he thinks he could have saved her. She died the same way mom did. He doesn't sleep well, and when he finally does he has nightmares and wakes up with nosebleeds. What's causing the bleeding?"

"His inner turmoil. He's tearing himself up inside with guilt and the guilt manifests itself as nosebleeds."

"How can we make him see that his girlfriend's death wasn't his fault?"

"We can't. He has to believe it for himself and…"She looked at him sadly. "I really don't think he'll be able to."

"So what happens if he can't?"

She took Dean's hand in hers and looked sadly into his eyes.

"He'll die."

Dean was speechless and could only look at her in disbelief.

**Later**

When Sam came back in Marge continued with the tour of the house. Sam handed Dean the electromagnetic field recorder while he turned on the digital camera. Dean kept a wary eye on his brother. _Marge said Sammy could die, well I'm not about to let that happen._ No way was he going to lose his brother. He felt a sharp pain in his heart at the thought of it. He couldn't allow himself to even think that way, Sammy would be fine. When this case was over he'd make him see a doctor, a hypnotist, or what ever it took to get him over these guilty feelings.

When they got to the boy's room Marge suddenly stopped them from entering the room.

"There is something evil in there. It wants us out of this house."

"Can you see it?" Dean said holding up the recorder.

"I can sense it." She looked at Sam. "Can you?"

Sam shook his head.

"No, I don't feel anything." He focused the camera on the room and looked through the view finder. "There are all kinds of orbs floating around in there though."

"There is a thickness in the air, an evilness." She stated.

Suddenly an overpowering odor surrounded them.

"Oh God it smells like decaying bodies." Dean said as he covered his nose with his hand and held up the recorder with the other. The lights on it started flashing wildly indicating a presence.

"That smell is definitely the sign of an evil spirit." Sam added as he too covered his nose.

"It knows why we're here." Marge said taking a step backward.

Suddenly Sam jumped backward.

"Whoa!" He pulled the camera away from his face.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Something started coming right at me really fast. It was….well it looked like a big black orb."

"Orbs are white and small." Dean looked back into the room.

"This one wasn't." Sam hit rewind on the camera, then play, and watched as the black orb flew toward the camera. He rewound the film again and held it up for Dean and Marge to see but as he hit play the camera flew back into his face. The force of the blow caused him to stagger backward toward the top of the steep steps.

"Sam watch out!" Dean screamed.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**The Innkeeper**

Chapter three

"Sam!" Dean reached out and grabbed Sam's arm just before he would have fallen backward down the steps.

"Whew! That was close." Sam said once he was back on steady ground.

"Are you okay Sammy?" Marge asked.

"Yeah….I don't know what happened. I guess I just lost my balance."

"You were pushed."

Dean looked at Marge.

"Someone actually pushed him?"

"Yes, this thing…this evil spirit will do anything to get us out of the house….including trying to kill us."

"Can you tell if it's a demon?" Dean asked. He knew demons were much more powerful then human spirits and also harder to get rid of. He also knew the overpowering smell they had smelled earlier was one of the signs of a demon's presence.

"I don't think it is a true demon, but I think it has the potential to become one. I feel it is a very evil human spirit. When it was alive on the earth plane it was as evil as one can become."

"Is it still here?" Dean looked back toward the bedroom.

Marge walked back to the doorway and shut her eyes for a few seconds then turned around and looked at them.

"No, it's gone."

Dean looked over at Sam and noticed his nose had started to bleed. Dean swallowed hard worried that Sam, who only had nosebleeds when he was dreaming, was now starting to have them while awake.

"What's wrong?" Sam saw the worried look on his brother's face.

"You're bleeding again."

Sam reached up then pulled his hand away and looked at the blood.

"Oh it's nothing…probably got bumped when the camera flew into my face."

"You sure about that Sam?" Dean was beginning to get pissed at his brother for not telling him how he really was feeling.

"Yeah Dean, it's nothing." Sam checked out the camera to see if it would work, then walked over and stood between Dean and Marge and hit play. "Watch this." They watched as the film clearly showed white orbs floating around the room. Then suddenly a large black orb materialized and charged toward the camera then disappeared. Sam then turned the camera toward the room and began recording again. He watched for about a minute then shook his head and looked at them.

"There's nothing there now… no orbs…. nothing." Sam looked at Dean.

"It's as if the black orb took the others with it."

They both looked at Marge for an explanation.

"This spirit is very evil and the others are afraid of it. It has trapped them here in the house and they are afraid to leave it. It controls them."

"I don't know if we'll be able to cleanse this house." Sam shook his head as he looked into the bedroom a hint of fear on his face.

"We ran into a demon before once and it almost ended up killing all of us." Dean explained to Marge. "It seemed to go after Sam more then dad and me, maybe because he was the youngest and least experienced in dealing with it."

"Or maybe it sensed something in Sam that it wanted to destroy."

"Well Sam's been having a lot of precognitive dreams. We couldn't check all of them out but the ones we could were just as he dreamed them. Something's happening to him and we're not sure what."

"Your brother is very troubled and I am worried about him. Demons are very receptive to gifts in humans and would like nothing more then to destroy them. Maybe you and your brother should leave."

"No, we're staying." Sam had heard her and turned around. "This is what we do. We can't turn our backs on the family that lives here."

Marge reached out and took Sam's hand.

"Honey, I'm worried about you. This spirit will do anything in its power to stop you. I feel it has sensed your gifts and wants you out of here."

"She's right Sam. If this thing is going to come after you I say we get out of here. No use asking for trouble."

"Dean we can't just leave this family with this thing in the house."

"There are other people out there that do this Sam. I'm sure Marge knows some and dad has a list in the back of his journal."

"We're here now Dean and we might as well stay and see if we can help"

"Okay, for now, but if it gets too hairy we're out of here. Agreed?"

"Yeah, agreed."

**Later that night**

Around eleven PM Marge's friends arrived for the séance.

"Sarah and Robert, this is Dean and Sam Winchester. They're the ones I told you about. Their father is a good friend of mine and we've worked together before." She then looked at Dean and Sam and nodded toward the couple. "This is Sarah and Robert Ludwig, they both have psychic abilities and can tune into the spirits."

"Nice to meet you." Dean extended his hand as did Sam.

"Well we might as well get started." Marge led them all into the dining room where she had all ready prepared the room. Five chairs sat around a small round table with two candles on the middle of it. Marge walked over and lit the candles.

"You've all done this before so you might as well join hands and we'll begin."

They all sat around the table, Sam and Dean sat across from each other.

"Okay, you all know the rules no matter what happens you need to keep the circle connected. Hopefully the spirit will talk through me and you can find out what it wants. Try to get it to move on and warn it that if it doesn't we will find a way to destroy it."

They all sat silently for a few minutes before Marge spoke.

"I invoke the spirit who dwells in this house to make itself known to us. We are here to help it move on to where it will find peace and forgiveness. I open myself to be used as a voice for who ever wishes to speak through me."

After a few minutes the candles began to flicker a little and a cold draft blew over them, something had entered the room.

"Please speak to us, use me as your instrument." Marge volunteered. After a few seconds she suddenly gasped and her head fell forward and then snapped back.

"Help us." The words came quietly out of her mouth.

"That's why we are here. We want to help you move on." Robert spoke up.

"He won't let us."

"Who? Who won't let you?"

"The Innkeeper."

"You need only go into the light."

"He will stop us."

"Is he here with you now?" Dean asked.

"No, but he is watching."

"Go now, quickly, before he can stop you." Sam could sense a dark presence slowly drifting into the room. He looked at the others but could tell they hadn't yet detected it. He caught Dean's eye and gave him a little nod indicating that the evil presence was nearby.

Marge suddenly threw her head back and screamed as the spirit that had possessed her body suddenly left. Her head fell forward and stayed there.

"Do not break the circle." Sarah warned.

The horrible smell once more came into the room.

"We need to try and wake her before that thing possesses her." Sam suddenly blurted out.

"But that's what she wants. She wants it to enter her so we can talk to it and it to us. We must try to get it to leave this house."

"No!" Sam shook his head; they could tell he was getting agitated. "It won't listen; this thing only wants us dead. The only way to rid the house of it is to salt the house and burn it."

Dean was as confused as the others as he listened to Sam. How did he know that he wondered?

"Sam, Marge has done this a million times. I think we should do what she wants."

"No!" Sam leaned over on the table. "Marge! Marge wake up!" He shouted over to her.

Suddenly pictures and dishes began sailing off the walls and bureaus toward them.

"Don't break the circle!" Sarah shouted but it was too late. Robert had been hit hard on the shoulder by a flying dish and inadvertently dropped Sam's hand. Before they could rejoin hands Sam was pulled viciously from his chair and thrown against a wall. He hit the wall hard and crumbled to the bottom of it. He groaned in pain and tried to get up but before he could he was yanked up by his shirt collar and held off the floor in the middle of the room gasping for air, his hands clawed at the invisible hands around his neck. He hung there with his head back, his legs kicking at nothing. Dean flew out of his chair and went to his brother's aide.

"Let go of him you son of a bitch!" He screamed as he reached up and grabbed Sam's legs trying to pull him from the spirits grasp but then Dean also was thrown violently against the wall. He looked up at Sam and his eyes widened in horror. Sam was now looking directly at him his eyes glowing red, no longer fighting the demon. Blood poured out of his nose and ran down his face.

"You will all die!" Sam said as he was lowered to the ground and headed toward Dean. As he walked toward him his face was filled with hate as he grabbed a knife off on of the bureaus.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate them.

**The Innkeeper**

Chapter four

"Sammy!" Dean yelled to his brother as he struggled to get up. He figured he must have hit the wall harder then he thought because he felt dizzy as he tried to rise and fell back down. Sammy continued walking toward him, pure hate on his face.

"You must die!" Sam said through clenched teeth as he raised the knife.

"Sammy snap out of it!" Dean screamed as he crawled backward away from him.

Marge woke up and quickly joined hands with Robert and Sarah. Seeing what was happening, they began chanting in Latin hoping to close the vortex to the spirit world and break the trance Sammy was in.

"Sammy no! It's me!" Dean's eyes widened as Sammy got closer. He finally managed to lash out and kick Sam hard in his shin. For a brief moment Sammy snapped out of the trance, looked at the knife in his hand, and realized what was going on.

"Dean get out of here! You got to get out of here! Hurry, I can't stop it!" Blood poured from Sam's nose and covered the front of his shirt as he fought with the spirit trying to stop it from taking over again, but he was too weak. His eyes began to glow again and he once more raised the knife.

"Sam no!" Dean yelled one last time then tried to roll to the side as the knife came down. Instead of stabbing him in the chest as Sam intended, the knife cut deeply into his side. Dean cried out in pain and looked into Sam's face.

"Damn it Sammy it's me! It's Dean!" Dean watched as Sam's face filled with pain and confusion as he realized what he had just done.

"Dean?" He said quietly as tears filled his eyes.

"Yeah Sam it's me! Put down the knife Sam!" Dean lay on the floor his hands covering the deep cut as blood bubbled between his fingers.

"Dean I'm sorry….I'm so sorry…." Sam started to reach for him but instead threw back his head and screamed in both pain and terror as the spirit once more began to take control of him. His eyes glowed again as he looked down at Dean.

In the background the chants from Marge, Robert, and Sarah grew louder and louder. Sam hesitated and glared back at them, then took a few more steps toward his brother. There was no where for Dean to go so he wrapped his arms around his body trying to protect his vital organs and waited for the next blow. Instead Sammy started to sway as the chanting grew louder and louder. Finally he collapsed on top of Dean and a thick black cloud rose out of his body and floated through the wall. Marge and the others quickly ran to their aide. They gently turned Dean onto his back. He winced in pain as they examined his wound and tried to stop the bleeding. He looked over at his brother who lay unconscious next to him. Sam's head lay in a small pool of blood which was slowly gathering beneath him from the nosebleed.

"How's Sam? Check on Sam!" He kept repeating as he tried to sit up.

"First we need to try and stop this bleeding." Marge gently pushed him back down. He lay on the floor, his eyes never leaving his brother's body.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean reached his hand over and grabbed hold of Sam's. "Is he okay?" He looked at Marge.

"Sam's lost a lot of blood but I don't think he's been physically injured. The blood is all from his nosebleed. But we need to get you both to the hospital."

**The hospital**

Both Winchester boys were put in the same room. Dean's wound was cleaned and stitched up but the doctors wanted to hold him for a day or two because they suspected he might have a slight concussion from hitting the wall. Sam's blood count was way down and he was still unconscious. They couldn't find any signs of injuries so he was hooked up to an IV of blood, to build his strength back up, and would be watched till he regained consciousness. Once they both had been treated the police were called in, as was customary when ever there was a gunshot or knife injury. They questioned Dean but he assured them that he had fallen on the knife when he went to his brother's aide when his nose started to bleed so badly. Marge and the others assured the police that was what had happened. Since there was no reason to doubt them the police went away satisfied.

Marge sat on a chair next to Dean's bed.

"What happened to him Marge?" Dean asked as he looked over at Sam who moaned as he tried to fight his way out of his drug induced sleep.

"As far as I can tell, the spirit who is holding the other spirits hostage entered Sam's body. It is a very strong evil spirit not like the other ones. Sam would have been able to fight the other spirits but this one is very evil and powerful, he didn't stand a chance."

"Is he going to be okay?"

She looked at him sadly.

"That I can't say. Once a person is possessed by something that evil he can easily be possessed again by the same spirit."

"But why did he choose Sam? You had offered yourself up to be his voice, why did he possess Sam?"

"I feel he wanted to mock Sam. He can sense that Sam has gifts which he doesn't even realize yet. I think he wanted to prove he was stronger then him. But as Sam learns to nurture his gifts it would have been almost impossible for the spirit to enter him that easily."

"He never had nosebleeds that bad before. Why now?"

"I feel Sam was trying to fight the spirit with ever thing he had. He didn't want to hurt you and the fact that he was unable to stop the spirit from hurting you was ripping him apart inside. That's what caused his nosebleed, the emotional turmoil that was going on inside him"

"So, what can we do for him?"

"I don't want him going back to that house. It will only try to gain control over him again. I think once you boys are well you should leave here and don't look back. Get him far away from here. I appreciate your offer to help but I don't want either of you dying because of it."

"I hate to leave you without being able to help you in some way. Maybe Sam was right, maybe the house needs to be salted and burned. Maybe there is no way to rid it of the spirit."

"I will try to save the house and the souls in it but if I can't, I will see that it is burned."

**The next day**

The following day both Dean and Sam slept throughout the day, Dean due to the pain medication he was on, and Sam from what they thought might be mental exhaustion. LaterDean woke up around midnight and immediately looked over at his brother's bed to make sure he was okay. Sam was sitting on the bed his elbows on his knees, his face cupped in his hands.

"Sam?" Dean said softly as he pushed himself up on the bed with his elbow. He winced as he felt the stitches pull.

Sam put down his hands and even in the darkness Dean could tell he had been crying.

"Sammy what's wrong?"

"I almost killed you Dean. I didn't want to but I couldn't stop myself."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault Sam, forget it. That thing was controlling you."

"I should have been able to fight it…. What if you had died?" Sam swallowed hard and looked away.

"I didn't die; I'm going to be fine."

"But what if you had?" Sam wiped angrily at his tears. Embarrassed that Dean had seen them. "How could I live with myself?"

"Look Sam I'm fine, just forget it, it wasn't you."

Sam shook his head and looked down.

"I'm tired Dean, I can't do this anymore...I almost killed you. I …I just can't do this anymore."

"Sam…look we're both tired. Let's get some rest and we'll talk about it in the morning. Okay?"

Sam gave a little nod.

Dean lay back down and shut his eyes; he'd talk to Sam in the morning. Right now the pain medication was making it almost impossible to keep his eyes open and he soon drifted back to sleep.

Sam waited till he was sure Dean was asleep. He then pulled out his IV tube and quickly dressed. Then he went through Dean's pants pocket till he found his car key. He gave a small smile knowing how much Dean loved his car.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it Bro. But this is something I got to do." He said softly as he slipped out of the room.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for your kind reviews. I love reading them.

**The Innkeeper**

Chapter five

Sam drove to the house and parked the Impala down the road in a small clearing to avoid it being damaged by the fire. He opened the trunk and took out a bag of salt, a cross, a lantern, and a container of gasoline. He then walked up to the house and stood outside looking at it. Everything in him told him to turn and run but he fought back the feeling. He took a deep breath and entered the building. Once inside he quickly went from room to room and removed as much of the family's personal items as he could. He took the items outside and put them in a small shed where he hoped they'd be safe, the house and furniture could be replaced. He hated the idea of having to destroy a family home, but losing the house was better then losing their lives. He reentered the house and began pouring the salt and gasoline through out.

**The hospital**

Dean felt someone shaking him; still sleeping he reached out and pushed them away.

"Come on Sam, let me alone." He mumbled.

"Dean wake up."

"Damn it Sammy go back to sleep."

"Dean."

"What?" Dean said irritated at being woken up. He opened his eyes and was startled to see Marge, a doctor, and a nurse standing by his bed. He immediately looked over at Sam's bed, and seeing it empty feared the worse.

"Sam!" His heart was pounding as he sat up quickly and regretted it as his injured side protested. "Where's my brother!"

"That's what we want to know." The doctor said. "He was gone when the nurse came to check on you two earlier."

"Gone! What do mean gone!"

Marge reached out and took Dean's hand trying to calm him.

"He must have just walked out during the night." The nurse said.

"Well he's over twenty one, there's nothing we can do." The doctor looked down at Dean. "When you see him tell him we need him to fill out some paperwork saying he released himself from the hospital without our knowledge. He needs to sign a release of obligation form." The doctor and nurse then left.

"Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" Marge asked.

Dean shook his head.

"I…I don't know. He was upset earlier but…" Dean suddenly sat upright in bed as he remembered their conversation. "He said something about that he couldn't do this anymore….I thought he meant he couldn't do the hunting anymore….but…." He looked at her worried.

"Oh God Dean, you don't think he meant…" She interrupted him knowing what he was thinking.

"Suicide? I don't think Sam would do something like that… He knows I'd kick his ass for even thinking that way." Dean started to get out of bed. "I got to find him."

"Dean you really shouldn't be up. I'll go look for him."

"No Marge, he's my brother, I got to find him." Dean started to get dressed. It was then he realized his car key was missing. "Damn the little geek took my car, he could be anywhere!"

"Dean you're starting to bleed again." She looked down and could see blood starting to leak through his bandage.

"I'm okay." He looked at her his eyes filled with worry as he remembered his conversation with Sam. "We got to find him Marge, before he does something stupid."

Marge suddenly shut her eyes as a feeling came over her.

"I know where he is!"

"Where?"

"He went back to the house."

"After what happened!... Why would he go back there, he'll get himself killed!"

"We must hurry before it's too late."

**The house**

After every room in the house had been salted and sprinkled with gasoline Sam knew what he had to do. He had to get the spirit to show itself or burning the house would be of no use. The spirit needed to be present in order for it to be destroyed.

"Okay you son of a bitch where are you?" He held the small oil filled lantern high and held the cross in front of him, that way if the spirit attacked him again the lantern would fall and start the house on fire. He knew there was a very good chance he might not be walking away from this one.

**Marge's car**

"Why the hell would he go back there alone? You just wait till I get a hold of him; I'm going to beat some sense into that boy." Dean shifted uneasily in his seat wishing he had his car. Marge's old station wagon was way too slow. He needed to find Sam and he needed to find him fast. Sensing his worry Marge's dog, that was lying in the back seat, hung his head over the seat and whimpered. Dean liked dogs and normally would have reached up and scratched him but his mind was only on finding his brother before it was too late.

"He wants to destroy the spirit…I think mostly because of what it made him do." She glanced over at him. "He almost killed you Dean and he would have if the chanting hadn't stopped him. Sam is a deeply troubled boy and he's tearing himself apart inside because of what happened."

"That thing will kill him! There's no way he can fight it alone, he knows that. Damn it! Why didn't he wait till I could help him?"

She gave Dean a small smile.

"Because you're his big brother and he loves you. He doesn't say it and doesn't always show it but he does you know. And that's why he wants to destroy this thing because it made him hurt you."

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat. He loved Sam also, but of course he never told him, he was never one for sharing his feelings. But his eyes filled up as he thought that now it might be too late.

"We got to hurry Marge!"

**The house**

"Come on you bastard show yourself!" Sam shouted as he turned slowly around in a circle. And then he smelled it, a horrible sickening smell. He swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat. "Is that the best you can do?" He shouted. "Come on show yourself!"

A blow to the back of his legs brought him to his knees. The cross flew out of his hand and the lantern fell to his side igniting the gasoline.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

**The Innkeeper**

Chapter six

Sam quickly rolled his body away from the flame then watched as it snaked its way along the gasoline trail and knew soon the entire house would be burning. He also knew that the innkeeper's spirit was now also in the house and it wouldn't be easy to destroy. He began reciting the exorcism prayer in Latin as he reached for the cross. Just as he was about to touch it he was picked up and thrown violently against the wall. He screamed in pain as he felt his arm snap. Even in pain he kept repeating the prayer over and over and was once more picked up and thrown against the opposite wall his broken arm taking the force of the hit.

"Oh God!" He screamed as tears of pain burned his eyes.

The pain in his arm caused him to momentarily block out the burning in his leg as it landed in the gasoline fed fire. But soon it too became unbearable.

"Arrrgggghhhhh!" He threw his head back and screamed in agony as he began swatting at his leg to put out the fire.

He had just put out the fire on his leg when his head was snapped back by a hard blow to his face. He fought to stay conscious; knowing if he passed out, he was dead.

**Marge's car **

They were just turning down the back lane that led toward the house when Dean spotted his car parked in the clearing. A sharp little pain shot through his heart as he realized that Sam, even in his pain, had still protected his brother's prized possession.

_Damn it Sammy you better be alright or I'll kill you_ he thought as they neared the house. Then he smelled it…smoke!

"Damn it Marge he already set it on fire!" Dean said as they pulled up. He jumped out of the car and looked around frantically for Sam. "Sam!" He shouted looking in all directions. "Sammy!"

Marge got out of the car and looked at the house which was slowly going up in flames. The flames had spread from the gasoline to the furniture and curtains. Soon the framework would go up.

"He's still in there Dean." She looked over at him fear on her face. "And it's trapped in there with him. He must have lured it out of the vortex then started the fire."

Dean ran toward the front door.

"Sam!" He tried to open it but could only open it so far before a force slammed it shut again. "Sammy!" He screamed as he tried to kick the door in.

"It's keeping you out. It can't leave, but it's determined to take Sam with it." Marge looked at Dean. "If you go in there it will try to kill you also."

"Marge is Sam still alive? Can you sense him?"

Marge shut her eyes for a few seconds then looked at the house.

"He's hurt but still alive. The innkeeper's spirit is slowly growing weaker but he is still much stronger then Sam.

"I got to get in there!"

**The house**

Sam knew he was dying. The smoke was getting thicker and making it hard to breathe as the innkeeper's spirit continued to beat him, throwing his body throughout the room. Bruises and blood covered his face. He looked up and winced in pain as he watched the spirit began to materialize in front of him. He knew it was only a matter of time, but he was at peace, at least he'd be taking the spirit with him and by doing that he'd be getting revenge on it for making him hurt his brother. He knew Dean was going to be pissed at him for trying this alone. Well one good thing he thought, he wouldn't be around for Dean to yell at. _You take care of your self bro_ he thought to himself right before he shut his eyes and waited to die.

**Outside **

Dean threw himself against the door but it wouldn't budge. He could feel the panic building inside him as he watched the flames start to lick through the roof, Sam was going to burn to death if he was even still alive. He went over to Marge and led her away from the house.

"Stay here." He said, and then ran full force toward a window.

"Dean no!" Marge screamed realizing what he was going to do.

He ignored her, put his arms over his head and dived through the window. The smoke immediately began to choke him.

"Sam! Sam where are you!" He shouted. All ready it was hard to see in the thickening smoke. "Sam!" He tried to stand up but then cried out in pain. He reached down and touched his bandage. Even in the darkness he could tell it was saturated with blood. His wound had reopened. He didn't have time to worry about himself; his only concern was his brother. "Sam!"

Sam could hear someone calling him off in the distance. He fought his way back to consciousness. Then he heard it again.

"Dean?" _Oh God no, what's he doing here? _He weakly looked up at the Innkeeper who now stood in front of him fully materialized. Sam tried to push himself up but as he did he put pressure on his broken arm and screamed in pain.

"Sam!" Dean had heard the agonized scream and started crawling toward the sound. "Sammy!" He called as he crawled into the room his brother was in and could barely see him lying on the floor near the wall. He watched as the spirit picked Sam up and began choking him.

"Get away from him you bastard!" Dean screamed as he continued crawling forward. He knew he had to stay low to the ground to avoid passing out from the smoke. "Leave him alone!"

The spirit left go of Sam who crumbled to the ground. It then turned and looked at Dean.

"Dean …get out!" Sam gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

"Not without you!"

"He'll kill… both of us….Please…just get out of here."

Dean ignored Sam and continued crawling toward him. He was halfway there when he could see that the spirit had moved in front of him. He slowly looked up into its face.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

This is the final chapter. Thanks again for the nice reviews.

**The Innkeeper**

Chapter seven

The Innkeeper reached down and grabbed Dean then tossed him like a rag doll across the room away from his brother. He hit the ground hard and yelped in pain. He watched as the spirit turned back toward Sam.

"You son of a bitch leave him alone!" Dean once more tried to make his way over to Sam, his knife wound now bleeding profusely.

Sam knew neither he nor Dean could take much more. He looked up at the Innkeeper.

"You want me you bastard? Then take me!" Sam knew if he was killed, maybe the spirit would be destroyed with him and Dean at least might survive.

"Sam no!"

"Come on you son of a bitch take me!"

Dean watched as Sam lay back on the floor exhausted both from the smoke and his injuries. He knew if the spirit attacked him again this time it would most likely kill him.

Dean began coughing as the smoke filled his lungs. He knew if he didn't get out soon he was going to die along with Sam. But he also knew he wasn't about to leave his brother. He began repeating the Latin prayer that their dad had taught them, the same one Sam had been saying. The Innkeeper turned back toward him, his face full of rage. It was then that the fire's glow caused the cross on the floor to shine. Dean tried to make his way toward it and had just reached it when the spirit once more grabbed him. The crucifix flew from his hand and landed next to Sam who watched as his brother threw back his head his face filled with pain as the spirit began to crush the life out of him. Summoning all the strength he had left Sam picked up the cross and slowly crawled toward them. Then struggling to his feet he threw himself through the spirit holding onto the cross and collapsed next to Dean. The spirit began to scream and spin around wildly as it burst into flames. Sam had passed out from the exertion but Dean watched as tiny white orbs began to appear as the Innkeepers spirit slowly disappeared. They floated in front of him for a short while then went up through the roof and disappeared, free at last from the Innkeeper's hold over them. Dean grabbed Sam by his shirt and drug him over to the nearest window. The house was now beginning to crumble around them. Tears stung Dean's eyes as he felt himself getting weaker and weaker. He knew if he left go of Sam he could make it on his own but he'd rather die then leave his brother behind. With one last burst of energy he pulled Sam over to the window, lifted him up, and pushed him through. He then began to crawl through and felt someone pulling him from outside the house. It was Marge. She pulled him away from the structure then went back and pulled Sam away with strength she didn't know she had.

"Look at you two!" She said as she knelt down beside them. Both of them were covered in blood. Dean's shirt was completely saturated with blood from his wound which had ripped open and Sam's face and body were covered with blood and bruises, his arm hung useless at his side, a large lump appearing over the break. "I got to get you two boys to the hospital."

"We did it Marge… We destroyed the Innkeeper's spirit...the other spirits are free." Dean looked over at his brother and winced when he saw his battered face. "How's Sammy?"

"He's alive….But it looks like his arm could be broken and he's taken quite a beating. How 'bout you?" She said, worried seeing all the blood.

"Just popped a few stitches. I'll be fine."

"Thank God. You boys had me worried."

"We'll be fine Marge." Dean gave her a smile, grateful that both he and Sam were alive.

Sam began to moan slightly, his eyelids fluttered then opened.

"Hey Bro." Dean said as he gently pulled Sam into his arms.

"Are we dead?" Sam said as he looked into Dean's face.

Dean laughed.

"No, but the Innkeeper is back in hell where he belongs."

"What about the others?"

"I saw them floating off….I think you freed them Sammy."

"You shouldn't have come back Dean, I had it all under control." Sam gave a little smile.

"Yeah, it looked like you did."

"Hey, I had him right where I wanted him."

"What, ready to bash your face in?"

Sam gave a little laugh.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For coming after me."

"Well I couldn't let you take all the glory now could I?"

It was then Sam saw all the blood on Dean's shirt.

"You're hurt!"

"I'm fine, just popped a few stitches."

Sam shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what."

"For trying to kill you dummy."

"That's twice now Sammy, once in that asylum and now here. Don't make a habit of it."

"I'll try not to. You know what they say…threes the charm."

"Don't remind me." Dean gently raised Sam's face and examined the bruises. "Boy he really did a number on you. How's the arm?"

"Hurts."

"Can you boys make it to the car? I need to get you to the hospital." Marge asked.

"I think so." Dean stood up wobbly, and then he and Marge reached down and gently helped Sam up. He cried out as they touched his arm which hung at his side. "Easy Bro." Dean said as he helped Sam walk toward the car.

"What about your car? We can't just leave it here." Sam asked.

"Yeah, how 'bout next time you borrow it you ask first?"

"Yeah, like you would have left me take it.… I did park it far enough away so the fire didn't reach it."

"Yeah, I noticed, thanks." As much as he loved the car it wouldn't have meant a thing to him if Sammy hadn't made it out alive. "How are we going to explain this to the cops?"

"I don't know….a knife wound, now a fire…. I say we jump in the car and get as far away from this town as we can."

"Sam your arm's broken, it needs to be set."

"Hey, Dad taught us how to set broken bones in case we were out in the field and there was no nearby help. You can do it Dean. You did it before."

When Sammy was twelve they had been hunting with their dad and Sam had broken his arm. It was then their dad had taught them how to set a bone. It had been extremely painful but it had worked. Dean swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered how Sam had screamed in pain as they pulled the bones back together.

"Sam I don't know if I can do that again."

Off in the distance they could hear the fire engine's sirens getting closer and knew they had to get out of there.

"Dean we don't have time to argue we got to get out of here."

"Look, both you boys need medical help. I'm not letting you two just ride off into the sunset." Marge looked back and forth between them.

"Sam's right Marge, we go to the hospital busted up like this and smelling of smoke they're going to hold us for arson. We'll be fine. I have medical supplies in the trunk and I can patch us up."

"What about Sam? He looks pretty bad. He could be busted up inside."

"Marge we can't be arrested. If they look in my car and see all the stuff in there we'll never get out of jail. We need to get out of here now. I'll take care of Sam and if I can't I'll get him to another hospital."

Marge didn't like it but she understood. She hugged Dean and gave Sam a small kiss on his cheek.

"You boys take care of each other." She put her hand on Sam's face. "And Sam….your girlfriend's death is not your fault. You need to let go of all those feelings of guilt boy."

Sam nodded sadly.

"I'll try."

The sirens were getting closer and soon the fire trucks would be there.

"We got to go Marge. You better get out of here yourself."

"Take care boys and keep in touch." She said as she got into her car and pulled away.

Dean walked Sam over to his car and helped him in the passenger's seat, then got in the driver's seat and quickly pulled away.

**Later**

When they had finally left the county Dean pulled over on a back road and had Sam lay down on the back seat. He got a towel out of the trunk.

"This is going to hurt like hell Sam. You'll need to bite down on this."

"Just get it over with." Sam said as he put the towel in his mouth.

Dean gently ran his hand over Sam's arm and could tell it was a simple break and shouldn't cause a problem. He took a few deep breaths to ready himself. He hated hurting his brother but knew the arm needed to be set. He took hold of Sam's arm, then held his breath and pulled. Sam's scream was muffled by the towel as his body jerked in reaction to the pain. His head flew back and then his body went limp as he passed out.

"Sorry Sammy." Dean said as he made sure the bone was back in place. He then got out two pieces of wood from the truck and tightly tied Sam's arm to it and then fashioned a makeshift sling. Once they got a motel room he would make a cast for him out of the plaster in the trunk. He covered his brother with a blanket and then got back in the driver's seat and drove.

**Motel room**

When Sam finally woke up he was lying on a bed in a motel room, his arm now in a cast, his burned leg also bandaged. He pushed the blanket that had been put over him off and slowly sat up and hung his feet over the edge of the bed. When the room stopped spinning he stood up and walked into the bathroom where he could hear the water running. He glanced in the mirror and noticed that his face had been cleaned of the blood, but winced when he saw the black and blue marks that marred it.

"Dean?" He said quietly as he leaned against the wall.

The shower door slid slightly open and Dean popped his head out.

"It's about time you woke up."

"Where are we?"

"I have no idea but it's about fifty miles from where we were. I think we should hold up here for a few days. How's the arm?"

"Hurts a little, but its fine. How about you?"

"I'll be fine. Can you hand me a towel?'

Sam handed him a towel and he ducked back into the shower before coming out with the towel wrapped around his waist.

"Is that what I did?" Sam said when he saw the deep inch long cut on Dean's side.

"Yeah, you're going to owe me one Bro."

"I'm sorry Dean….I couldn't stop him from taking over. I tried….But he was too strong. You know I could have killed you …."

"Yeah, but you didn't. So don't worry about it, it's over."

Sam shook his head.

"That's twice now I let something possess me…. I should be stronger; I should be able to fight it." Sam looked over at Dean. "One day I might end up killing you."

"One day I might end up killing you too. It's a chance we take Sam. The line of work we're in….who knows what can happen."

"Is it worth it Dean? Is it really worth dying for?"

Sam shook his head sadly and looked away.

Dean looked at Sam's bruised and beaten face and felt a little ache in his heart. Why couldn't he tell his brother he loved him he wondered. It just wasn't something he could do, too girlie. Instead he punched him lightly on his good arm.

"Don't you go getting all drama queen on me Sam. Now get out of here while I get dressed."

Sam walked back into the bedroom and turned on the TV. He was randomly switching channels when he came to a news report about the fire.

"….the fire was determined to be of a suspicious nature. No injuries were reported and the fire marshal is investigating… now onto the weather…."

Dean walked into the bedroom just in time to see Sam grab a tissue as a thin trickle of blood ran out of is nose. He shook his head sadly as he watched Sam quickly try to dab it away before he saw it. One day he'd find a way to help Sam deal with the guilt he felt. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he remembered Marge's words to him. If he didn't get rid of the guilt it could eventually kill him.

The End


End file.
